SEO is a popular, marketing buzzword that still confuses clients (and my parents.)
Simply put, SEO stands for “search engine optimization” which is a more technical way of describing who has the most popular content on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
And even though you probably didn’t care about sitting at the popular table in high school, you should care about having the most popular website when it comes to search.
According to Search Engine Land, 97 percent of people conduct at least one search every day, but only 69 percent log on to social media every day. So if you want to be profitable, it may not hurt to be popular, at least in this circumstance. Here are a few quick strategies you can implement on your site now.
Add meta titles.
A meta title is just a snippet of what your audience is going to find on your website. Instead of writing an entire paragraph about what you do, a meta title communicates the short and sweet version of what your audience will find on your website. Think of it as clickbait. Here’s an example:
All you’ve got to do is go in the back end of your site and update your descriptions and make sure you add your keywords. If you want to check and see how you’re measuring up with your keywords and ranking, use a free tool like Google Trends.
Update and optimize your URL Titles.
The titles of your web pages matter. To simplify the process, consider these three guidelines when choosing your URL names.
Don’t make them too long. Just keep your titles relevant to your content, and present them in the most precise way possible.
Use Keywords. This is a great and easy way to incorporate your keywords so you rank higher as well.
Consider how your content will be shared on social media. This is the biggest reason to follow the other two tidbits above. Aside from your email list, it’s pretty likely that social media will be where you’re generating the most traffic for your website. So read through your URL titles through the lens of your audience.
Check your site speed.
Google has yet another free tool to help with your site speed. Simply enter your URL, and see how quickly it is loading. If your score is lower, just compress the size of your images on your website. That action alone will go along way.
Name your web content.
Naming all of your photos, blog content, and video content in accordance with the keywords your target audience is searching will also make a huge difference. Search engines are smart, and this detail alone will continue to set you apart to tear through your competition.
Secure high-quality backlinks.
Don’t go rogue, but make sure you have backlinks from relevant websites that are also regularly producing both high quality and consistent content. Whether it may be sponsors for your business, blogs similar to yours, or links featured in your blog content, backlinks go a long way.
